Schools and education facilities supplement Policy and funding
‘The construction
industry has a
part to play in
rethinking how it can
help to avoid the
potentially damaging
consequence of
throwing good
money after bad’ –
Jerry Barnes
or the past six years Britain’s Building Schools He says: ‘In any event, the construction industry has Project accomplished...
F
for the Future (BSF) programme has enjoyed a part to play in rethinking how it can help to avoid the St Christopher’s School
a multi-billion pound budget, resulting potentially damaging consequence of throwing good in Letchworth Garden
in work to rebuild or refurbish more than money after bad to achieve the desired improvement in City was built via a
1,000 schools. Launched by the then Department for schools. This will become the “more for less” challenge Private Finance Initiative
Education and Skills in February 2004, BSF aims to for designers and contractors. deal.
rebuild or remodel every state secondary school in ‘No magic wand can solve the current economic
England – around 3,500 in total. shortfall for funding and fi nancial support. So unless
Its key aims are to transform education for around the construction community moves to resolve the
3.3m students aged 11 to 19, and, slash schools’ carbon shortfall, and government sorts out its needs from
footprint. So far, between £2.5bn and £3bn has been its wants, there is a real danger that the “new school”
spent on the programme each year. But with a general programme will slow down signifi cantly.’
election in the UK due this spring, amid promises of Such a slowdown could lead to a number of changes
spending cuts by all the main political parties, what is in the school design policy, argues Barnes, with stricter
the future likely to hold for BSF? post-occupancy validation required, concentrating on
Engineering consultancy Hoare Lea’s Jerry Barnes, CO2 concentration, the daylight factor, and energy/
partner and head of education sector group, believes the carbon impacts. It could also be an opportunity
recession poses a real danger to the speed of new-school to implement more onerous legislative design
builds, fearing this could involve compromises in requirements for whole-building performance.
design, and will inevitably lead to more refurbishment ‘As the UK’s new building programme moves
projects. towards zero carbon operating goals, there will be >
www.cibsejournal.com February 2010 CIBSE Journal 23
CIBSEfeb10_School_pp22-24,26_policy.indd 23 25/1/10 15:42:43
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